Sports
Nigeria Qualifies For Round Of 16
The Super Eagles last
Wednesday qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup in spite of their 2-3 loss to Argentina in their third Group F match.
The match played at the Estadio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre in Brazil saw FC Barcelona’s forward, Lionel Messi, and CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa scoring a brace each for both sides.
The result meant Nigeria ended up as runners-up in Group F with four points behind leaders Argentina who have nine points.
The match had a blistering start, with Messi crashing a first-time shot into the net’s roof from 12 yards out after Vincent Enyeama had tipped over Angel Di Maria’s initial effort.
Musa exploited a one-on-one with Pablo Zabaleta to cut inside from the left and curl an inch-perfect right-foot shot just inside the far post, to level the game.
It was not long, though, before Messi again took the centre stage.
A minute into first-half injury time, Messi who had forced a brilliant save from the goalkeeper with an earlier free-kick re-established his team’s lead from an almost-identical position.
This time, there was no chance for Enyeama, with the FC Barcelona star curling a left-foot shot from 25 yards which cleared the wall and dropped just inside the right-hand post.
But once again, Nigeria wasted little time in responding to Messi’s brilliance.
Few minutes into the second half, Musa emulated the Argentina skipper by completing a double of his own.
He raced through and wrong-footed Sergio Romero with a low shot into the bottom-left corner.
But Nigeria could not deny Argentina a third straight win as they were able to secure the three points just three minutes later.
It was the scrappiest of all five goals, with Marcos Rojo bundling a corner home with his knee.
In the other Group F match played simultaneously at the Arena Fonte Nova Salvador, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Iran could not secure a place for both teams in the next round.
Debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina finished third in Group F with three points, while Iran could only make do with one point.
The Super Eagles will now meet the winners of Group E, while Argentina will meet the group’s runners-up.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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